My Love (Petula Clark song)
Encyclopedia
"My Love" is a 1965 single release by Petula Clark
which in early 1966 became an international hit, reaching #1 in the US: Clark's regular songwriter and producer Tony Hatch
was responsible for "My Love".
In November 1965 Tony Hatch, on a flight from London to Los Angeles, was putting the finishing touches on his composition "The Life and Soul of the Party" which he planned to record with Clark in Los Angeles to serve as her next single. In casual conversation with the American sitting next to him Hatch was advised that this song's title would be meaningless to the American public. Hatch then proceeded to write lyrics for a song whose title - "My Love" - could not conceivably present any comprehension issue; these lyrics were completed on the plane and Hatch wrote the music for "My Love" soon after landing.
"My Love" was recorded at Western Studios
and featured the backing of the Wrecking Crew
.
Released in December 1965, "My Love" became Clark's second single to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
in February 1966 making Clark the first British female to have two US #1 hits. Also a #1 hit in Canada, "My Love" returned Clark to the UK Top Ten for the first time since "Downtown
" two years previous with a March 1966 peak of #4. "My Love" became a certified Gold record
for US sales of one million units and in the UK the single earned a Silver disc
for sales of 200,000 units.
"My Love" also provided Clark with a hit in Australia (#4), New Zealand (#6), Rhodesia (#1) and South Africa (#6) and reached #13 in both the Netherlands and the Dutch speaking region of Belgium. In Germany "My Love" became a hit first in its original English version (#13) and then again when rendered in German as "Verzeih' die dummen Tränen" (Forgive the foolish tears) (#21). Translated recordings by Clark also made "My Love" a hit in France and Italy, respectively as "Mon amour" (#12) and "L'amore e il vento" (Love is the wind) (#24).
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
which in early 1966 became an international hit, reaching #1 in the US: Clark's regular songwriter and producer Tony Hatch
Tony Hatch
Anthony Peter "Tony" Hatch is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger and producer.-Early life and early career:...
was responsible for "My Love".
In November 1965 Tony Hatch, on a flight from London to Los Angeles, was putting the finishing touches on his composition "The Life and Soul of the Party" which he planned to record with Clark in Los Angeles to serve as her next single. In casual conversation with the American sitting next to him Hatch was advised that this song's title would be meaningless to the American public. Hatch then proceeded to write lyrics for a song whose title - "My Love" - could not conceivably present any comprehension issue; these lyrics were completed on the plane and Hatch wrote the music for "My Love" soon after landing.
"My Love" was recorded at Western Studios
United Western Recorders
United Western Recorders, often abbreviated to UWR, was a renowned recording studio complex in Hollywood, California, which became one of the most successful independent recording studios in the world in the late 1950s and 1960s....
and featured the backing of the Wrecking Crew
The Wrecking Crew (music)
The Wrecking Crew was a nickname coined by the drummer Hal Blaine after the fact for a group of session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who earned wide acclaim in the 1960s. They backed dozens of popular singers, and were one of the most successful "groups" of studio musicians in music history...
.
Released in December 1965, "My Love" became Clark's second single to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in February 1966 making Clark the first British female to have two US #1 hits. Also a #1 hit in Canada, "My Love" returned Clark to the UK Top Ten for the first time since "Downtown
Downtown (Petula Clark song)
"Downtown" is a pop song composed by Tony Hatch which, as recorded by Petula Clark, became an international hit – No. 1 in the US and No. 2 in the UK – at the end of 1964.-Original recording:...
" two years previous with a March 1966 peak of #4. "My Love" became a certified Gold record
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
for US sales of one million units and in the UK the single earned a Silver disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
for sales of 200,000 units.
"My Love" also provided Clark with a hit in Australia (#4), New Zealand (#6), Rhodesia (#1) and South Africa (#6) and reached #13 in both the Netherlands and the Dutch speaking region of Belgium. In Germany "My Love" became a hit first in its original English version (#13) and then again when rendered in German as "Verzeih' die dummen Tränen" (Forgive the foolish tears) (#21). Translated recordings by Clark also made "My Love" a hit in France and Italy, respectively as "Mon amour" (#12) and "L'amore e il vento" (Love is the wind) (#24).
Cover versions
- Karina and Gelu both rendered the song in Spanish in 1967 as "Mi amor".
- Hannele Laaksonen rendered the song in Finnish as "Rakkauteni".
- Sonny JamesSonny JamesJames Loden , known professionally as Sonny James, is an American country music singer and songwriter best known for his 1957 hit, "Young Love". Dubbed the Southern Gentleman, James had 72 country and pop chart hits from 1953 to 1983, including a five-year streak of 16 straight among his 23 No. 1...
(C&WCountry musicCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer) covered "My Love" in 1970. His version reached No. 1 that May on the Billboard magazine Hot Country SinglesHot Country SongsHot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart, in the midst of his then-record string of 16-straight No. 1 singles in as many releases . Also in 1970 C&W singer Barbara FairchildBarbara FairchildBarbara Fairchild is an American Country Music/Gospel Music Singer, who is best known for her 1973 Country chart-topper "The Teddy Bear Song". After the success of the song, she continued to have success on the Country charts....
recorded "My Love" for her debut album Someone Special. - Mrs. MillerMrs. MillerElva Ruby Connes Miller , who recorded under the name Mrs. Miller, was an American singer who gained some fame in the 1960s for her series of shrill and off-key renditions of then-popular songs such as "Moon River", "Monday, Monday", "A Lover's Concerto" and "Downtown".Singing in an untrained,...
covered the song in 1966, on her debut album with Capitol Records entitled Mrs. Miller's Greatest Hits and is on the 1997 compilation CD of her work released on Capitol's Ultra-Lounge label: Wild, Cool & Swingin', The Artist Collection Vol. 3: Mrs. Miller. - John DavidsonJohn Davidson (entertainer)John Hamilton Davidson, Sr. is an American singer, actor and game show host known for hosting That's Incredible!, Time Machine, and Hollywood Squares in the 1980s, and a revival of The $100,000 Pyramid in 1991....
covered it in 1966 for his album Time of My Life!. - Florence HendersonFlorence HendersonFlorence Agnes Henderson is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her role of Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974...
(Actress/singer) performed the song as a serenade on the famous 1969 "Tonight Show" segment in which Tiny TimTiny Tim (musician)Tiny Tim , , born in Manhattan, was an American singer and ukulele player. He was most famous for his rendition of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" sung in a distinctive high falsetto/vibrato voice.-Rise to fame:Born to Lebanese parents in 1932, Khaury displayed musical talent at a very young age...
married Miss Vicky.